South Carolina General Assembly,
As faith leaders from across traditions and denominations, we strive every day to make South Carolina a safe place to live, work, worship, and learn for all people, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. We are deeply concerned about bills in South Carolina that unfairly target the LGBTQ+ community – particularly transgender youth.
Two bills being considered now in South Carolina would discriminate against transgender young people and pose grave danger to the welcoming and inclusive climate that we need in our schools and in our state. As clergy who also support youth in their spiritual development, we are gravely concerned about the impact of these bills on transgender youth’s emotional, spiritual and social development. We strongly oppose these bills.
One bill, H.3477/S.531, would restrict transgender students from playing on school sports teams. The truth is that there are already guidelines with the South Carolina High School League that ensures fairness for all when it comes to middle and high school athletics, which H3477 would impact. This is a manufactured problem, plain and simple.
A separate bill, H.4047, would prohibit transgender people under the age of 18 from receiving essential medical care by making it a felony for medical professionals to provide transition-related care to transgender minors, punishable with up to 20 years in prison. The bill also requires teachers, counselors, and staff at schools in South Carolina to share with students’ parents if they learn that a student’s “perception of [their] gender or sex is inconsistent with the minor's sex.” In effect, the bill essentially requires teachers to “out” transgender students to their parents, potentially before they are ready to share. In addition to putting our youth at risk, this bill would criminalize physicians for doing their jobs and require medical professionals and educators to violate their ethical duty to protect the children in their care.
The far-reaching negative impacts of these bill are very real, and very alarming: Transgender students, like other students, deserve the same opportunities to thrive as any other student. This means being able to access the essential medical care they need. It means being able to turn to supportive adults at school to speak confidentially about their lives. It means being able to participate in school athletics, through which they can learn sportsmanship, leadership and self discipline, and build a sense of belonging with their peers.
It is not an exaggeration to say that precious lives are at stake, and we urge you with the full force of our collective voices to oppose this bill.
Transgender people are our friends, neighbors, and family members. We are all God's children and made in God’s image. We all deserve to go about our daily lives without the fear of discrimination.
Across our diversity of faith traditions and backgrounds, we share the fundamental belief that we are all called to treat others with respect and love. We encourage lawmakers to join us in this public commitment to equality, respect and justice for all by opposing anti-transgender bills and supporting dignity for transgender youth.